At the end of the International Government Communication Forum, the United Arab Emirates University conducted a panel discussion: “future view of the role of social media platforms in employing students’ skills” and held a meeting for directors of government outreach departments in educational institutions in the country.

The session was attended by the student Issa Al Awadi from the United Arab Emirates University, who has an exceptional experience in social media sites, the student Abdul Rahman Salah Al Hosani from the University of Sharjah, who has an excellent website, and Ms. Fatima Al Ahbabi, an author and a graduate of the UAE University, Head of the Arabic Language Proofreading Unit at the Trends Research and Advisory.  The session was moderated by the student Hamda Al Blooshi from the UAE University.

The participants presented their vision and experience in social media sites in various technical applications, emphasizing the importance and role of having good communication skills and techniques, especially since social media sites and networks provide a wide scope and space for the owners of these sites, including media professionals, tweeters and amateurs. The social media are introducing themselves in the media arena, as one of the strategic options in transmitting information and providing qualitative and comprehensive media contents.  At the same time, the participants emphasized the importance of awareness and responsibility in the role of traditional media as the official choice, due to its formality, professionalism, and credibility in conveying information. They also said that it is important that traditional media keep pace with modern technologies, which many media institutions are working on for all written, visual, or audio materials.  The social media sites attract large social segments that need information to readily interact with the fast-paced events.

On the other hand, the university also held a coordination meeting for directors and officials of government outreach departments in several institutions headed by Ms. Ghalia Al Ahbabi, Director of the University Outreach Department at the UAE University. They discussed the challenges facing government outreach departments in educational institutions, and ways to measure the impact of media materials published in various media outlets locally and globally. The directors also gave presentations of some successful experiences in the context of developing effective communication tools with various categories of customers, in addition to submitting proposals to activate the role of government outreach departments to confront media crises in various fields.